We’ve reached the end of May, and the race for the Stanley Cup has thinned out from 32 to just 4 teams.
Starting tonight is the Western Conference Finals, featuring the battle of the Micks: Connor McDavid vs. Nathan MacKinnon. Beyond McDavid, the Oilers also have Leon Draisaitl (tied with McDavid for the playoffs point lead, with 7/19/26) and Evander Kane (playoff leader in goals, with 12). MacKinnon is supported by the elite two-way play of Cale Makar, who is tied with him with 13 points in 10 games. The goalies on both sides are less than trustworthy, so hopefully this series features many high-scoring games.
In the East, starting on Wednesday, the two-time defending champion Lightning are well-rested after sweeping the President’s Trophy champion Panthers. They travel to New York to challenge the Rangers, survivors of two consecutive seven-game series. Whereas elite forwards are the stars of the WCF, this series is a battle of two elite Russian goaltenders: Igor Shesterkin vs. Andrei Vasilevskiy.
The Western conference games are on TNT and the Eastern conference games will be on ESPN. Most will start at 8 p.m. EDT with the exception of Game 3 in the East, which will be at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
In our bracket challenge, devilpenny and Haemmertime remain tied for the lead, and each have picked the Lightning to win. Third place BSB WC is the most well-positioned entry to have chosen the Avalanche.
Which teams do you think will advance to the Cup Final?
Who will play for the Stanley Cup?
| Avalanche vs. Lightning | 13 |
| Avalanche vs. Rangers | 8 |
| Oilers vs. Lightning | 2 |
| Oilers vs. Rangers | 1 |